SEAFOODNEWS.COM by Michael Ramsingh – July 22, 2015 — Mounting evidence that the 2015-16 scallop harvest in the US is on pace to fall short of expectations, along with lower availability of imported product, has put upward pressure on the US market this summer.

In June US scallop landings out of the Mid-Atlantic were down 13 percent from the same time last year and 36 percent from the five-year-average. Since fishing started in March, US scallopers have hauled in 13.26 million pounds; down 20 percent from this time last year and 44 percent from the five-year-average.

Source: Urner Barry

These figures are counter to some industry expectations that predicted this fishing season’s domestic scallop harvest to range between 41 and 47 million pounds; at least 36 percent over last season’s haul.

Though US scallop boats will continue to fish through February of next year, landings historically tend to decline steadily into the summer and fall, before ultimately bottoming out by the fourth quarter of the year.

“The real numbers do not meet the expectations of what has been printed, discussed, and provided to the industry. The catch will most likely be millions less than anticipated if the catch rate per day continues on the current path,” said Eastern Fisheries’ Commodity Sales Manager Rob Rizzo back in April.

Meanwhile, US scallop imports haven’t fared any better with YTD shipments through May down 33 percent to 21.2 million pounds; over a 10 million pound drop-off compared to this time in 2014.

Major declines from China and Peru have largely been behind the fall in scallop imports. Shipments from China are down 47 percent, with Peruvian imports 67 percent short of last year’s levels.  Higher Chinese scallop demand has contributed to the more limited shipments to the US market. In Peru, shipments are down due to production issues with the harvest.

Shipments from Japan–the second largest scallop supplier to the US–are down over 5 percent. Japanese production appears to be in position to dive over the next several months according to a report published last week. Processors in Hokkaido reported more limited access to raw materials from a bout of storms that stirred up farming operations.

“The survey showed that 93.2 percent of the processors in the region underwent impact in one way or another,” the report said. “Asked about the specific contents of the impact, 72.8 percent replied that they saw decrease in production and shipment volume while 63.1 percent said buy orders and sales declined. “

Altogether, there is less scallop supply in US inventories this year, which has started to put upward pressure on the markets. In trading this week, average Urner Barry prices for Dry IFQ 20/30 ct Domestic Sea Scallops shot up 4.5 percent to $12.50 per pound.

“Market prices for domestic products have responded sharp and swift to lower than anticipated landings and stronger auction prices,” reported Urner Barry Seafood Market Jim Kenny in the July 21 Seafood Price Current.

Since historical data suggests the US scallop harvest is likely to fall well under 2015-16 season estimates; and with imported scallop supplies more limited from a year ago, this week’s bump up in wholesale domestic scallop prices from supply concerns is well in line with typical market behavior. What remains to be seen is if this upward pressure will continue to push up the market in the weeks and months ahead.

This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.